


Howling Ghosts, They Reappear

by AvaCelt



Series: Gintama Prompt Fills [22]
Category: Gintama
Genre: M/M, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-29 02:51:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6355975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvaCelt/pseuds/AvaCelt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The scar reminds Gintoki of all the times he'd turned his back on Tatsuma, the times he'd refused to acknowledge the laughing man's pain, the moments he rejected the taller man for something else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Howling Ghosts, They Reappear

**Author's Note:**

> Written for "Character Whump Fic Meme." Originally posted on my [Tumblr writing blog](http://victorsandvanquishers.tumblr.com/post/141648059635/sakagin-6-the-character-whump-one-last-one-i) and now being archived here for the A03 writing community.
> 
> Title from "King and Lionheart" by Of Monsters and Men. Can be listened to here [(x)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A76a_LNIYwE)

Five years after the Rakuyou battles, they're married and living loudly atop Otose's newly extended building. It was a necessary evil, as business steadily grew and, at thirty-two, Gintoki was lonely and aimless once more as Kagura had gone adventuring with her father for the better part of the year while Shinpachi took control of the daily management at the dojo. Otose was forced to put marriage ads in the newspapers, and Gintoki's lazy ass being Gintoki's lazy ass, he picked his nose and went along with their antics.

Of course, Sakamoto Tatsuma was the first to answer, and though at first it was nothing more than two old friends meeting for dinner and drinks, the dates soon became longer, the drinks stronger, and then Tatsuma started spending nights, and before the month was over, Tatsuma had agreed to marry his former teammate and the whole of Edo was invited. Half the city was destroyed because of the large number of corporate dogs baying for Gintoki's head because he'd married the most eligible bachelor in the galactic business sphere, and that it just wasn't fair that someone as bright and beautiful as Tatsuma ended up with a guy who picked his nose during his wedding vows and wiped his boogers on his surrogate daughter's new dress.

But they go through it, and a year after the fact, they're married and living as contently as most thirty-three year olds do. Gintoki goes to sleep drunk and wakes up late, while Tatsuma turns in early and wakes up early for another round of meetings and shady business deals. But they harmonize. They're adults like that.

But sometimes, they're not.

Gintoki's known about the scar since Tatsuma received it from Batou, and while Gintoki knows there are some boundaries not even bonafide assholes cross, Gintoki decides that the scar is one he has to breach.

During cold nights and winter months, Tatsuma hides his pain. He says no to sex, and Gintoki's cool with it, but when he tries to simply hold him, Tatsuma pushes him away and sleeps at arm's length. At first, Gintoki thinks that maybe his body odor is exceptionally worse during cold weather, but one winter night, he showers twice and lathers himself in some buttery lotion Zura uses, and he knows he's soft, pink, and drop dead gorgeous when he walks into their shared bedroom, ready to prove to Tatsuma that he's a considerate husband.

But Tatsuma laughs and falls asleep and Gintoki can't figure out if it's the chill or the fact that they're getting old. But that same night, Gintoki catches Tatsuma shivering, and when he tries to pull the comforter over Tatsuma's shoulder, he viciously slaps Gintoki's hands away. Gintoki stills, alert and ready to fight because this Tatsuma, this is not the man he married. He roughly pulls on Tatsuma's shoulder to make him face him, and what Gintoki expects is anger and frustration, but all he sees are tears and agony burning in his chocolate brown eyes.

The scar is bright pink and throbbing. Gintoki can feel its angry heat crawling up Tatsuma's arm, into his shoulder, up to his brain. That night, Gintoki wraps Tatsuma in two shawls, a blanket, and puts soft shoes on his shivering feet before carrying him to the hospital while Tatsuma sobs into his neck.

Ten surgeries, and it's still a mess, and at one point, Tatsuma considers hacking it off. Gintoki doesn't choose for him, and instead holds his good hand and tells him that they're still married, they're going to get old together with or without both of Tatsuma's arms, and Shinpachi plans to cook for them on Sunday, so Tatsuma has to pull through. Tatsuma keeps the arm, but as the months pass, the pain gets worse and comes when it isn't cold, comes when they're making love, comes when Tatsuma's in the middle of a meeting and causes him to pass out in front of investors.

So Gintoki takes him to a shrine, somewhere far away, to people who owe him their lives, to cash in on debts and favors Gintoki thought he'd never look back on. But Gintoki does it. Kagura, Shinpachi, Zura, and Takasugi join them. They take a car. When they have to walk, Gintoki carries Tatsuma. When they make camp in the forests, Gintoki holds Tatsuma close as the pain crawls from Tatsuma's skin to Tatsuma's eyes, to Tatsuma's chest, to Tatsuma's lungs.

In the end, it's the Amanto that save him. Gintoki sincerely despises the irony and keeps vigil over Tatsuma's chatter as the interplanetary doctors work their overtly technical magic on Tatsuma's scarred arm.

In the end, instead of amputating his limp, they replace flesh and tissue with nanotechnology and Amanto-grade biodegradable elements. Tatsuma loses another twenty percent of his function, bringing the arm's capability down to a staggering forty percent, but the pain's finally gone. Tatsuma can go back to his meetings and money, Gintoki can drink away his nights, and when they make love late in the night, Tatsuma doesn't wince, even if the arm sometimes loses grip.

They laugh, turn thirty-five together, and Gintoki gets to make love to his husband. Tatsuma kisses him back, appreciates his bad jokes, holds him close.

The scar never goes away but Gintoki is OK, even though he's in charge of carrying groceries for the rest of their lives. Everything's fine because Tatsuma is fine, and when Tatsuma tells him he loves him, Gintoki knows it to be true. The scar peeks through Tatsuma's clothes sometimes and reminds Gintoki of all the times he's failed Tatsuma in their life, but nowadays, Tatsuma will tell him a bad joke and Gintoki will be laughing too hard to notice that the scar stops mattering after a while. In the end, it's Tatsuma who matters the most, and his Tatsuma is safe and happy, and really, how much more could Gintoki ask for?

 


End file.
